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Cloud Computing – The Best Form ofIT Delivery

Cloud Computing – The Best Form of IT Delivery

The changing paradigm of software development is the result of the advent of cloud computing models and virtualization. The new concepts and delivery models have made major inroads in the field of Software Development. These new models can help you solve some major problems which are faced mostly by small and medium enterprises. Before this volatile economic downturn, businesses kept getting the work done in-house. Many did not prefer outsourcing their in- house due to factors like local employment, security of resources and delivery, proprietary issues & mutual trust. Cloud Computing addresses many of these problems in different ways by providing full control to companies over the entire set of resources that would be used in different projects.

Cloud computing involves computing with scalable and virtualized resources which are provided through service over the Internet. Users need not know about it in technical terms to get control over the technology infrastructure.

Cloud Computing Overview

The concept has a combination of the following

lInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS)lPlatform as a Service (PaaS)lSoftware as a Service (SaaS)

The seven elements of cloud computing includes:Cloud computing services include business applications which are deployed online and can be accessed from a web browser when the data is actually stored in particular large storage servers.

As evident from the graph above, cloud computing drivers include the need to cut costs, lack of in- house skills, budget issues, and the need to improve business operations. Cloud computing delivers this and more, the cloud has expanded its horizons tremendously in multiple sectors.

In today’s situation, a part of computer hardware in some large companies is used for development purposes and some parts for testing and staging. A huge amount of processing power is utilized and the expense involved is enormous. These expenses are particularly devoted for non-business critical requirements in major organizations where the core work is related to other domains.

According to the ITIL study, only 15% of the respondents considered implementing a public or private cloud computing model:

There are some complexities involved when companies make deals with IT vendors to outsource their in-house development/Testing work. In such scenarios, these companies have faced major issues/risks in the recent past:

lLack of transparency in the transactions as well as the delivery of work from the vendorlManipulation of dedicated resourceslFailure in ROI even after a huge investmentlLack of control of infrastructure from the client’s perspectivelInefficient Application Integration & Build Management lFaulty Hardware Scalability & Performance

The above points have been major factors in some companies not willing to outsource IT development tasks to offshore locations and companies

Current Scenario

The Cloud architecture, which involves the merging of software systems to be used for online delivery comprises of hardware and software, architected by a cloud specialist and a cloud integrator. Many multiple cloud components are involved in communicating with each other on multiple programming interfaces and web services are usually the most important intermediary.

This concept resembles the UNIX philosophy of multiple programs doing a single task through universal interfaces. The level of complexity is controlled and kept manageable compared to most of the counterparts. The concept is extended to web browsers and also includes software applications that accesses cloud applications.

Cloud Computing Architecture

Features and Advantages of Cloud Computing

lImprovement in agility as accessibility to technological information resources is rapid and cost-effectivelCapital expenditure is transformed into operational expenditurelIncrease in device and location independence due to access through web browserlFeature of Multi-tenancy for better sharing of resources lImprovement in reliability and business continuity lIncredible security measures with centralization of data

Use in Distributed Development Environment

lCompanies can obtain cloud computing services through subscription based model or by paying upfront for the services rendered.

lThe model assists in group collaboration; one can launch new servers and decommission them as required lSoftware development projects are temporary mostly with definite period of execution wherein not many

governance issues apply since sensitive corporate data is not involved anywhere. lCloud testing brings in new approaches and capabilities including the newly invented cloud-sourced testing. lMost issues related to distributed development is completed solved with the help of centralization of infrastructurelDelivers more flexibility in terms of OS, Database, Mail Servers & the like. This is to help in understanding the

product compatibility subject to many different conditions

Cloud Computing in the Mobile World

Cloud computing has brought in the trend in which resources are delivered to clients on an on-demand basis. Mobile cloud computing (MCC) revolves around the concept of cloud computing in which the user device is a mobile. Many techniques and methods are available for mobile cloud computing. One can deal in general-purpose mobile cloud computing solutions and application-specific ones too. Various instances of mobile cloud computing are noticed in recent months where mobile devices now serve as the cloud rather than being the client.

There are two primary reasons why mobile cloud computing is set to become a disruptive force in the IT world. The first is taking into account the number of cloud users and the ever-increasing reach: which is far more than the number of mobile users alone. The second reason involves the distribution of applications. Currently, mobile applications are matched up with a carrier. But with mobile cloud computing applications, internet is the only medium through which you can get access to the mobile application.